


Close

by ElectricMud



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Anal Sex, Consensual Underage Sex, F/M, Father/Son Incest, Jealousy, M/M, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 03:27:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6267673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectricMud/pseuds/ElectricMud
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carl is up from his coma and realizes that he has developed feelings towards Rick. [Set between 6x09 and 6x10]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dolor

**Author's Note:**

> My first Carl/Rick work ever. If you're not into that or any of the tags listed, make sure that you don't read.

Rick had just finished changing Carl’s bandage.

“All done.” Rick smiled at Carl. He got up from the chair beside Carl’s bed and started heading out the room. He opened the door and switched off the lights.

He turned around at Carl. “Night,” Rick whispered. He waited for a few seconds for Carl to say anything before closing the door.

As soon as his father had left, Carl reached into his pants, grabbing himself. He thought of his father. I’m sick, he thought to himself. He felt guilty for thinking of Rick, his father, this way. He never thought of him this way before. He only recently found out about his feelings when he woke up from his coma.

\--

Carl got up from his bed and walked out of his room. He went to the bathroom and tried opening the door. It was locked.

“Michonne?” he heard his father say inside.

“It’s Carl,” he answered.

Rick unlocked the door and swung it open. He was topless, buttoning up his pants. The sight of that got Carl thinking of his dad again.

“Why are you up? Denise said that you sh-”

“I feel fine,” Carl interrupted.

“Get back in bed,” Rick ordered.

“No.”

“Carl,” Rick said firmly, keeping his gaze intent on Carl.

Carl scoffed, turned around and started heading back to his room. He shut the door hard behind him and lay on the bed. He could hear Rick’s footsteps approaching his room. He didn’t want this. He wanted to be alone.

Rick knocked lightly on the door before opening it. He walked in and closed the door behind him.

“What?” Carl asked rudely, sitting upright.

“Carl, I just want you-” Rick stopped. He didn’t know what to say. “Just stay in bed.” He kept looking at Carl. Waiting for him to say something. That he didn’t want to stay in bed. That he wanted to get out of the house.

“Okay,” Carl said.

Carl lay on the bed, waiting for his father to leave the room. He wanted to be left alone. 

“Do you need any-” Rick started asking.

“No,” Carl replied, interrupting his father.

Rick walked out of the room, annoyed with his son’s behavior.

\--

Rick knocked on Carl’s door. “You coming down for dinner?” He waited. Opened the door when Carl didn’t reply. He was lying on the bed, earphones in his hear. Plugged into his MP3 player. Carl took an earphone off and looked at Rick, standing by the door.

“Dinner?” Rick asked again.

“Canned food? No, thanks.” He put the earphone back on.

Rick sighed and walked back downstairs, leaving Carl’s door open. Carl looked at the door, too lazy to get up and close it even though it was annoying him. He decided to leave it.

\--

The footsteps of Michonne and Rick coming upstairs woke him up. He looked at the alarm clock on his bedside. It was 9:21. They probably just finished eating dinner. He shut his eye. He didn’t feel like talking. The MP3 player was still playing, although one earphone had fallen off. He heard someone walk into the room. He wasn’t sure if it was Rick or Michonne. Someone took off the other earphone and set the player on the bedside.

Carl opened his eye as he heard the door close. The lights had been switched off. He could hear the music roaring through the earphones on the bedstand. He reached over and turned the volume down.

“Pretending to sleep, huh?” He heard his father’s distinctive voice say, startling him. He looked around the room and spotted his father’s outline in the corner of the room. He could only see him because of the moonlight washing over the room from the window.

Carl sighed, dreading the inevitable conversation they were going to have.

Rick walked over and took a seat on the chair. He looked at his son, his face frightened for some reason. 

“Carl…”

“Dad, please,” Carl looked right at Rick’s eyes, “Do we have to talk?”

Rick looked at his son with sympathy. Carl hated all the sympathy he was getting from everyone. He nodded. Rick leaned forward from his chair, towards Carl’s bed.

“I’m here,” Rick began. He held his son’s hand. “That’s all I wanted to say. I’m here if you ever need anything… anything at all.” Carl had his head down, making no eye contact with his father He let go of his hand and got up from his chair. He sat on Carl’s bed. He reached out and placed his hand on Carl’s chin to lift it up. He saw that tears were rolling down his cheek.

“Oh,” Rick gasped out. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Carl crying. He leapt over to hug Carl. Comfort him. “Oh, Carl,” he whispered in his son’s ears. Rick was on the verge of crying himself. He couldn’t bear the thought of his son crying. Upset.

Rick held him tighter as he heard Carl starting to sob louder. He could feel his son’s tears and mucus on his neck and shoulder but paid no attention to it.

“It’s okay,” Rick said quietly as he held him tight.

“It’s not,” Carl sobbed, “I’m hideous.” He hated that his father was seeing him like this. But he let himself go and he couldn’t stop.

“No,” Rick muttered, unhappy that his son thought of himself in this way. “No, you’re not.”

Carl let his head rest on his father’s shoulder as his sobs got quieter. Rick had hoped that Michonne didn’t hear Carl cry. He knew that Carl would be embarrassed if anyone had seen him this way.

Rick let his son rest on him for a while. He didn’t care about anything else, he wanted Carl to feel better. After a while, Rick felt Carl completely collapse on him. He must be asleep, he thought. He picked up his head and moved it onto the pillow. His eye was puffy from crying. Rick got up and covered Carl up with a blanket, not wanting him to get cold. 

He looked at him and wondered if he should sleep here today. After deciding he shouldn’t wake up alone, he got on the bed and lay down behind him. He held Carl close to him and started drifting off to sleep as well.

\--

Carl woke up before Rick. He felt alarmed when he felt the arm around him but immediately remembered the events of last night. I’m so stupid, he thought to himself. He heard a groan behind him.

“Carl?” Rick asked, wondering if he was still asleep.

“Morning,” Carl said.

Rick got off the bed and crouched down to pull the bedpan from underneath the bed. Carl felt embarrassed that his father had to clean up his mess. He walked over to the door to open it, holding the bedpan in his left hand.

“I’m sorry,” Carl murmured, making Rick look back at him, confused.

“For what?” He asked.

“Last night,” Carl said, avoiding eye contact with his father.

“No,” Rick said, putting the bedpan down. He walked over and sat on the bed again. “No, no, no,” he repeated. Rick kissed Carl’s forehead. “Don’t be. You shouldn’t be.”

Rick looked at Carl. “Don’t be,” he said again, “Okay?” he asked.

Carl nodded. Rick got up from the bed and picked up the bedpan.

\--

“Time to change your bandages,” Rick said, closing the door behind him.

“Ugh,” Carl said, “When can I get an eyepatch?”

“I’ll ask Denise,” Rick laughed. He sat down on the chair next to the bed.

Rick’s eyes were focused on taking off the bandages carefully. He made sure he didn’t hurt Carl. He took them off completely and threw them at the bin but missed. He got up and walked over to pick it up from the floor.

“Can I see?” Carl asked as Rick threw the bandages into the bin. Rick looked at Carl, he knew this day would come eventually. He was conflicted at first but he had no right to stop him. “Can I see the wound?” Carl asked.

“C’mon,” Rick said as he reached out his hands for Carl to grab on. He got up from the bed and the pair walked to the bathroom. Rick opened the door for Carl as he walked in. Carl stood in front of the mirror but couldn’t see anything. Rick put his hand on the light switch and clicked it. Carl flinched as he saw himself in the mirror. He did look hideous, he thought to himself. 

Carl saw his father’s eyes in the mirror, full of sympathy. Carl turned around and walked out of the bathroom. Back to bed. Rick switched off the lights behind him and went back to Carl.

“You okay?” he asked him as he stood in the doorway.

“I guess,” Carl shrugged.

Rick raised his eyebrow, unsure if Carl was hiding his feelings from him.

“I’m fine, dad,” Carl assured him, “Really.”

“Okay,” Rick sighed as he closed the door behind him.

\--

Carl winced making his father stop cleaning his wound.

“Sorry,” Rick said.

“It’s fine.”

Rick finished cleaning and started putting new bandages on. Rick couldn’t talk while changing bandages. He didn’t want to mess up. Once he was done, he placed all the equipment he brought back on the tray.

He picked up the tray and started walking out of the room. He turned around at the doorway.

“I forgot to tell you,” Rick said to Carl, breaking the silence. “I- I’m going on a… run tomorrow. Michonne will spend the day-”

“No!” Carl yelled, interrupting him. “Please… dad.”

Rick staggered at his son’s reaction. He wasn’t expecting him to react this way. “Oh,” Rick said nervously, “Uh… I guess Michonne could go instead… I’ll stay.” Carl felt relieved, although baffled by his reaction.

Rick closed the door behind him and took the tray downstairs.

\--

Rick tried opening Carl’s bedroom door. Locked. He knocked and waited for a reply. “Carl?” he asked. He knocked on the door again.

“Carl?” Rick asked again. His voice concerned this time.

“Y-yeah?” Carl replied.

“Why’s the door locked?”

He heard the lock being fumbled with before unlocking. The door swung open. Rick noticed that Carl’s pants were zipped up but unbuttoned. 

“No reason,” Carl replied quickly.

“Well, I was going to ask what you wanted for dinner.”

“Anything’s fine,” Carl replied, eager to close the door.

“Even canned food?” Rick asked. Carl couldn’t tell if he was joking.

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Rick said, turning around.

“Keep the door open,” Rick ordered as he heard Carl beginning to close the door.

Carl didn’t question his father. Instead, he waited until he had left and ran to the bathroom. He pulled himself out and went on.

He kept going on for a few seconds before hearing footsteps. He didn’t stop at the sound of his father’s footsteps. He moved over to the toilet and lifted the seat. He was so close.

The door to the bathroom opened slightly as he was so close to coming. Carl paid no attention and moaned as he came into the toilet.

“Shit,” Carl said as he noticed the come he got on his hands. He turned around to grab toilet paper and saw his father standing in the doorway, a boner poking the fabric of his jeans. Why did his father have a boner?

“Fuck,” Rick muttered and slammed the door shut.

\--

Carl cleaned up and opened the door and walked up to his closed bedroom door. He was still trying to process what had just happened. He pushed his door slowly and saw that Rick was sitting on the foot of the bed.

“Carl,” Rick whispered, “I- I can explain.”

Carl didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say. Did Rick feel the same way? The idea got Carl excited but he decided not to get his hopes up.

Rick got up from the bed. “I…” Rick tried to explain. He was speechless. He couldn’t explain. He couldn’t explain anything. Would Carl tell anyone? Enid? Carl looked down and saw that his father’s erection hadn’t gone away.

“Carl?” Rick asked, noticing that Carl was looking at him.

Carl walked over to his father and put his hands around him. He hugged him. He got closer. And closer. Until he could feel his father’s erection against him. Poking him. Teasing him. He could hear Rick breathing. So close.

“I need you,” Carl whispered.

“What?” Rick asked pulling away from Carl. He looked into his son’s desperate eyes. So desperate. “Carl.”

“Please, dad. You said-”

“No,” Rick cut him off.

“You said,” Carl said, louder than usual. “You said th- that if I needed an-”

“No.”

Carl could feel his eye watering. I’m so stupid. He didn’t feel the same way, did he? Carl almost jumped when his father leapt on him, their lips met. He could feel his scratchy beard on his face. Rick was kissing him. His father. Rick pulled away, breaking the kiss.

Carl smiled afterwards. Rick felt confused, unsure of what he should do. Out of control, Rick crouched down, sat on his knees and put his hands on Carl’s zipper. He noticed that his jeans weren’t buttoned, as he unzipped and pulled down his son’s pants. So eager to see his son.

Rick put his hands on the underwear’s waistband and pulled it down, revealing Carl. Rick looked at his son’s dick. Inches away. Smaller than Rick had expected. Carl felt his cheeks go red as his father looked at him.

Rick put his hand on Carl’s shaft. Cold. Still sticky. Carl moaned out loud when Rick put his tongue on the tip. He licked off the come that Carl had left in his pants. It was his first time tasting it. It tasted kind of sweet. Rick didn’t like men. His son was the only one he’d ever though of in this way.

He used his hands to help guide Carl’s dick into Rick’s mouth. Carl gasped when he felt that his whole dick was inside of his father. Even though he just came, Rick could already feel Carl getting bigger inside of him. He started steadily sucking his son. In no time, Carl was bursting. This time inside of his father. 

The sticky come traveled down Rick’s throat. He pulled his head back and got up. Come was still oozing out of Carl’s tip to the floor. Licking the fresh come off his lips, Rick walked over to grab tissues. He got a couple and crouched at Carl’s feet and wiped Carl’s mess off the floor, then wiped Carl’s shaft as well.

Rick got up and walked to the door, putting his hand on the handle. The erection was still poking through his jeans, bigger than ever. 

“Dad,” Carl said, his voice needing more. He didn’t want this to be over. “I want you,” he told his father. Rick nodded, letting go of the door handle.

He took off his white shirt and threw it on the floor.

“Get on the bed,” he told Carl, “Lie on your stomach and don’t look back.” Carl took off his shirt and his jeans and as his father asked. He listened as his father unbuckled his belt. Unzipping his pants now. He heard the jeans fly across to the other side of the room. Rick should only be naked now but he wasn’t allowed to look back to make sure.

Rick got on the bed and arched over Carl. He put the tip of his rod on Carl’s entrance, making Carl gasp.

“Shit,” Rick muttered. Carl felt his father break contact with him.

“What?” Carl asked, not turning around.

“We don’t have lube.”

“That’s okay,” Carl tried to convince Rick. He wanted this to happen.

“It’s not.”

“Please,” Carl pleaded.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Rick said.

“It’s okay,” Carl said again, “It’s okay, dad.”

Carl heard Rick sigh behind him, then place the tip back on the opening. He heard his father spit, probably on his hand. Rick lubed up his shaft with the spit hoping it would ease Carl’s pain. He knew it wouldn’t though. Rick pushed inside with a grunt. Almost instantly, Carl felt his father’s tip inside of him. Carl clenched the sheets, felt his face going red. It hurt so much but he didn’t want his father to know that.

“You okay?” Rick asked.

Carl nodded even though he wasn’t. Rick pushed himself inside Carl further with a powerful thrust. Carl winced with a gasp, he didn’t expect father to be so rough already.

“Carl, we can stop if-”

“No,” Carl said, gasping for air, “Keep going.”

Rick started pounding his son, his rod throbbing inside of him. Carl would gasp and moan with every thrust that his father gave him so roughly. Rick couldn’t hear Carl gasping anymore over the sound of their skin slapping against each other.

Carl felt overwhelmed with pain and pleasure. Wanting his father to finish although still wanting him inside. Rick felt so close to finishing inside of Carl.

“I’m close,” he whispered into Carl’s ear.

Rick gave one final hard thrust before delivering his load in Carl. “Carl,” he gasped out as he shot the come. He let himself collapse on top of Carl after he had finished. Rick’s sweaty skin was now fully in contact with his son’s. His shallow breathing still recovering from the orgasm he just had. Lori was the last time he’s had an orgasm.

After his breathing had gone back to normal, he pulled out of Carl, his rod still hard and throbbing. His hand reached down and wiped off some of his come that was oozing out of Carl. He nudged Carl, gesturing him to turn around. Once Carl was lying on his back, Rick gave him his fingers to lick the come off clean. Carl tasted a combination of Rick’s sweat and come, which tasted bitter.

Rick lay down next to Carl.

“Shower?” Rick asked, staring at the ceiling.


	2. Empty

The room was empty when Carl woke up. He expected Rick to be next to him, asleep. He didn’t waste another second in bed and immediately got up. He pushed the door that had already been slightly open. He figured Rick was downstairs in the kitchen when he heard a noise from there. He darted for the stairs, thrilled to see his father.

“Morning,” Carl said gleefully.

“Hey,” Rick looked at Carl, “Want anything to eat?”

“Not right now,” Carl looked at his father, smiling.

“Well, Denise is going to look at you later today,” Rick said and then left the kitchen. Carl followed him like a pet. Rick sat on the couch and started wearing his boots.

“I’ll see you later,” Rick said dismissively, picking up a bag.

“Wh-” Carl started to ask.

“I’m going on a run,” Rick answered, cutting him off. He knew what Carl was going to say.

“I thought that y- you…” Carl trailed off. He had no idea what to say.

“Michonne is going to be here later with Judith,” Rick said, walking to the door. He walked out and closed it behind him, leaving Carl alone. Carl’s jaw dropped when his father left. Why was he treating him this way? Did he hate him? Carl dropped to couch and started crying. Alone.

\--

Rick started heading down the porch when he spotted Michonne down the street with Judith. He waved at her, jogging towards her. She stopped when she saw him, wondering why he had a bag with him.

“Why do you have a bag?” Michonne asked as she passed Judith to Rick.

“Going on a run,” he said, as he looked at Judith.

“Now?” Michonne asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Yeah,” he said, moving his eyes off Judith to Michonne, “Can you look after Carl?”

“I’ll go inst-” she started offering.

“No,” he interrupted, “I’m going.”

“Rick.” She waited for him to say anything but he ignored her, looking at Judith again. “Rick, he needs you. It’s only been three days since he woke up. I’m going on the run. You’re staying with Carl. Carol can probably look after Judith.”

Rick looked frustrated. He wanted to go. “Fine,” he said reluctantly.

 

\--

Carl cried for a good five minutes before getting up to grab a tissue. He started heading upstairs to his room after cleaning himself up, when he heard someone opening the front door, then something being thrown on the couch. He went back downstairs to check if it was Michonne with Judith.

It wasn’t. It was Rick. Carl stood at the bottom of the stairs looking at Rick – who knew that Carl had been standing behind him but he ignored him. Rick turned around and walked past Carl to the kitchen, making no eye contact with him.

Carl followed him to the kitchen. “Dad? Carl asked.

“Yeah?” Rick answered, still making no eye contact, fumbling around the kitchen with no real purpose.

“What are you doing?” Carl asked, his voice cracking.

Rick stopped whatever he was doing and finally looked at Carl. He shrugged then went on.

“Fine,” Carl snapped and stormed up the stairs. He slammed the door to his room and lay down on his bed so that he could start crying. Again.

\--

He could hear Rick’s footsteps a few minutes later. Then a knock on his door. Another knock. Rick opened the door and peeked in. He spotted Carl crying on the bed so he let himself in, closing the door behind him.

Carl didn’t turn around but he tried to stop crying. He couldn’t. He heard his father sigh behind him then footsteps. Rick sat down on the chair and looked at the back of his son’s head. He felt guilty for doing this. He was the reason Carl was crying and he hated himself for it. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was acting this way.

“Carl?” Rick said, putting a hand on his son’s shoulder. Carl didn’t want to turn around and face Rick but he did it anyway. He looked at his father and immediately realized that his face was a mess. Rick raised his hand up to Carl’s face and wiped his cheek clean from the tears. He held Carl’s face and leant in for a kiss. Their lips met then almost immediately parted, breaking Carl’s heart. He wanted this to last longer.

Rick couldn’t bring himself to apologize so this was his way of saying that he was sorry. Carl moved forward for another kiss but Rick moved back placing two of his fingers on Carl’s lip. Rick wanted more as well but they’d have to wait. He couldn’t risk someone finding out.  
“Tonight,” Rick whispered to Carl.

Carl shook his head, he wanted it now. “Please,” he begged.

Rick shook his head and got up from the chair. He walked to the door and put his hand and on the handle. He turned around and looked at Carl. “Tonight,” he told him again, “I promise.”

\--

“You should go see Denise now,” Rick told Carl, picking up both of their plates.

“Do I have to?” Carl asked, looking at the time. It was 5:43PM. Could it be night already. Time was passing by oh so slowly for Carl. He followed his father to the kitchen who was putting the dishes in the sink. Carl had been following him around all day, eager for something. Anything.

Carl decided he was going to tease Rick. Maybe he could be convinced this way. How could he tease him? The idea got Carl excited. He walked up to his father so that he was standing behind him. Carl hesitated for a second before quietly unzipping his pants. He reached in and pulled himself out. When his shaft was hanging out of his pants, he got closer to Rick and put his arms around him. He hugged him from behind, pushing himself against his father. That made Rick stop whatever he was doing.

“Carl,” Rick protested.

Carl ignored his father and lowered his hands from Rick’s chest down to his pants. It didn’t take long for Carl to get ahold of his father’s erection through his pants. Rick released a quiet moan when he felt Carl’s hand gently squeeze his balls.

Rick turned around, unable to hold it in anymore. He grabbed Carl and started kissing him roughly. Carl reached down to his father’s pants and unbuckled his belt. As Carl struggled to unbuckle the belt, Rick picked Carl up and placed him on the kitchen counter. Their kiss didn’t break as they got their pants off. Both eager.

Rick pulled back, breaking the kiss. He took off his shirt, threw it on the ground and moved down so that he was facing his son’s dick. He put it in his mouth hungrily, getting Carl hard almost instantly. Rick sucked Carl for just a few seconds before Carl felt like he was going to come.

Carl was about to warn his father that he was going to come when he heard the front door unlocking. Rick heard the door as well and immediately pulled his head back and released Carl from his mouth. Carl had no control over himself and realized that he was going to come anyway. The huge load shot out of Carl and landed all over Rick’s beard as he was staring at the doorway, getting ready to dress.

“Shit,” Rick hissed, getting up to grab a towel, “Get dressed!”

Carl tucked his sticky rod back inside his jeans and zipped it. He jumped off the counter and darted for his father’s shirt so that he could give it to him. Rick grabbed his shirt from Carl as he was using the towel to wipe his face clean. Once he had his shirt on, he buckled his belt and darted for the doorway while zipping his pants.

He spotted Michonne walking towards him.

“You’re back,” Rick said.

“Yeah, finished earlier than we expected,” Michonne answered.

Rick nodded. “How was it?”

“Fine,” Michonne answered, turning around to head for the stairs. Rick kept breaking eye contact with Michonne.

“Where’s Carl?” Michonne asked.

“In the kitchen,” Rick answered, walking besides Michonne to the stairs.

“Uh,” Michonne began. She pointed to his face, “You got something on…”

Rick’s heart dropped. He reached for his face and wiped his left cheek. It was Carl’s come. “Um, it’s soap. Me and Carl… we’re cleaning the dishes.” He stopped next to Michonne by the stairs.

“Oh,” Michonne said, “Well, I’m going to go have a shower. I’ll talk to you afterwards.”

Rick nodded then turned around to walk back to the kitchen. He saw Carl, sitting on a stool, his eyes worried.

“It’s fine,” Rick whispered, grabbing the towel to clean his hands.

\--

Almost night. Carl couldn’t wait. He decided instead of waiting around all day at home, he should take a walk. So he slipped out of the house without telling his father or Michonne. He figured that it’d be alright.

While walking around, Carl tried to picture what would happen tonight. Rick would slip in his room. They would be together. They would have to be quiet. Michonne was there. Would she hear them? See them? The thought was cut short when he spotted Enid waving him over, from afar. He waved back and walked quicker to her.

\--

“Fuck,” Carl got up, threw his comic on the ground, “What’s the time?”

“I dunno,” Enid replied, looking up at Carl. Wondering what got into him. “Why?”

“Uh,” Carl said as he tried to think of an excuse, “I just promised my dad that I wouldn’t be long.”  
“Oh,” Enid said, “I could walk back home with you.”

Carl nodded, picked up the comics and threw them in the box.

\--

“How’s your eye?” Enid asked, looking at Carl. They were close to home.

“Uh, fine,” Carl replied, but inattentively.

Carl spotted his house around the corner and picked up his pace, walking slightly past Enid. As he got closer, he realized that Rick was standing on the porch. He walked even faster, leaving Enid to walk behind him. Rick heard a noise to his right and turned his head, realizing it was Enid and Carl walking.

He moved immediately and walked down the porch steps with a scowl on his face. Carl’s heart immediately dropped when he noticed his father’s expression. Carl stopped walking a few feet away from his father, Enid stopping behind him as well.

“Inside,” Rick said to Carl, gesturing to the door. Carl looked back at Enid before walking up the porch steps. Enid started slipping away into the dark, still keeping an eye on Carl. Rick walked up the porch steps and stood in front of Carl, giving him a long frown of disappointment before shaking his head.

“Where were you?” Rick asked, breaking the silence.

“With Enid.” Carl answered, his voice shaking from the cold. Alexandria should be covered with snow anyday now.

Rick looked down. “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving? Or even Michonne. You can’t just leave with-” Rick stopped, giving up on scolding Carl. “Just get inside.”

“Dad, I-”

“Go to your room, Carl,” Rick said, unable to bring himself to look at Carl. Carl decided that he shouldn’t argue and walked past Rick, to the door.

\--

The door to Carl’s bedroom opened. Carl turned around, expecting to see Rick standing in the doorway. It wasn’t. It was Enid.

“Enid?” Carl whispered.

Enid let herself in, leaving the door wide open behind her. “I just wanted to check…” Enid said, her eyes looking around Carl’s mess of a room, “Uh, your dad seemed pretty upset. I thought you told him you were going out.”

Carl shook his head. He realized that his room was a complete mess. Enid walked to Carl so that she was standing inches away from him, her back facing the doorway. She leant in for a kiss. Carl realized what she was doing and he kissed her. The kiss had lasted several seconds when Carl looked at the doorway and noticed that Rick was standing there

He moved his glance back to Enid and broke the kiss. “You should leave,” Carl told Enid, anxious for her to leave. So that he could explain to Rick. What would he say? How could he explain? Enid nodded. Carl looked back at the doorway and saw that his father was gone. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Enid said to Carl, smiling. She turned around and Carl heard her quietly go down the stairs. Carl stood in his room, alone. He thought about what he was going to say. How he was going to make up for this. Would Rick forgive him? He probably hates me, Carl thought to himself.

Carl started walking out of his bedroom. Slowly. He was worried. He didn’t know what Rick would say. He walked down the hallway, feeling uneasy. He stopped at his father’s door – which was slightly open – to gather his thoughts.

After a few seconds, he pushed the door. Rick was standing, his back to Carl, looking out the window. Carl walked in and closed the door behind him. He stood by the door, feeling overwhelmed by guilt and shame.

“Dad?” he called.

“Go to your room,” Rick said, unable to hide the scorn in his voice.


	3. Winter

“Go to your room, Carl,” Rick repeated himself, still looking out the window.

“Dad…” Carl said, close to tears. Rick ignored Carl’s plea and turned around to face his son. Rick looked at Carl, his face wearing a frown of disgust.

Rick tried to put his revulsion into words but he couldn’t. He sighed, broke eye contact with Carl and turned around, facing the window again. Rick couldn’t bring himself to look at Carl and he hated himself for that. He wondered if Carl and Enid have done anything other than kissing.

“Go,” Rick insisted.

Carl ignored Rick’s request and moved closer to him. Carl stood in the center of the room and looked at his father. He wanted Rick to give him a chance to explain. Carl felt horrible when he realized he let Enid kiss him. She leaned in but he kissed her. He thought about asking his dad for forgiveness but he knew that he wouldn’t forgive him. Not right now, at least. Carl turned around and walked to the door.

He opened the door and heard Rick mutter something under his breath. He walked out, closing the door behind him. He went back to his room and lay on his bed. He started dozing off, dreading what would happen the next day.

\--

“Carl,” Michonne whispered, “Wake up.”

Carl woke up and saw Michonne standing by his bed. She smiled at him when she saw that he woke up.

“It’s two in the afternoon,” she told him, “I’m surprised Rick hasn’t woken you up. He usually makes you get up bright and early.”

“I’m up,” Carl said, “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Michonne nodded and left Carl’s room, leaving the door wide open. Carl got up from bed and realized that he was still wearing his jeans. He opened his wardrobe so that he could change into clean clothes. He pulled out an identical pair of pants and pulled off the ones he was wearing. He took off his blue shirt and threw it on his bed.

He realized that his door was open and walked over to close it. As he was pushing the door, he saw Rick walking down the hallway. He didn’t stop pushing the door, he couldn’t bring himself to talk to Rick right now.

He closed the door, locked it and walked back over to his wardrobe. He picked up his jeans to wear them but heard a knock on the door. It’s probably dad, Carl thought to himself.

“Just a sec,” Carl said, now rushing to get his jeans on. He put them on, leaving them unzipped and unbuttoned and darted for the door. He struggled with the lock for some reason before finally being able to unlock it. He swung the door open and saw Rick standing in front of him.

Rick looked at Carl topless then looked down and saw his unzipped jeans. “Uh, you didn’t see Denise yesterday. Make sure you go see her before night,” he said, his voice dull and flat. Carl noticed that his father’s eyes were red and puffy.

“Oh,” Carl said disappointedly, “Okay.” Carl softly closed his door without saying anything else. He expected his father to say anything about what happened. He didn’t. It was like he just pretended that nothing had happened.

\--

“Carl,” Enid said, lowering her comic book. They’ve been reading quietly for about an hour. It was almost dark. Enid threw her own book aside and turned to Carl. “What happened yesterday?” she asked. Carl knew she was going to ask sooner or later.

“Your dad seemed pretty pissed.”

“It’s just because I was late,” Carl said.

“He didn’t even know you were out. You told me that you let him know.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Carl said and went back to reading his comic book. Enid got up with her bag and threw her comic book in the box. “Where are you going?” Carl asked.

“Back,” Enid said, turning around, “You coming?”

Carl nodded and grabbed his bag.

\--

The first thing Carl did when he walked into the house was look at the time. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was almost seven. He let Michonne know that he was going, this time. Carl walked up the stairs quietly. He didn’t want to run into Rick.

He got to his room and quietly opened the door. He realized that the lights were turned on. He turned them off when he left. He looked around and nearly drew his gun when he saw that someone was sitting on the bed. He realized that it was just Rick and he walked in.

Although it’s only been a few seconds since Carl walked in, it seemed to him that the awkward silence lingered on for a few minutes. He felt eager to say something. Say anything. Just to break the silence. He couldn’t say anything.

Rick was looking down at his lap. “I don’t think that…” Rick said, before trailing off. He looked up, making eye contact with Carl. “I don’t think that this’ll work,” he said, finishing his sentence. Rick’s eyes were still red and puffy. He looked at Carl, his eyes starting to get watery. He looked down again.

Carl didn’t say anything. He walked over to his father and sat down on the floor, on his knees. He grabbed ahold of his father’s hands and put his head down on his lap.

“No,” Carl said, almost in tears, “I’m sorry.” He lifted his head and looked up at his father, his eyes begging for forgiveness. “Please,” he begged, placing his head back on Rick’s lap.

“Carl,” Rick said. He could feel Carl’s tears. “I…” he struggled to look for words as tears rolled down his cheeks, “ _I’m_ sorry, Carl. But this will never work. I shouldn’t have done that to you. You’re just…” He looked down at the back of Carl’s head. “Get up, Carl.”

Carl lifted his head, which felt heavier than ever. He got up and sat on the bed next to his father. He turned his head to look at Rick and saw that he has been crying as well.

“Can’t we just start again?” Carl asked.

“I can’t,” Rick said, “I can’t do that to you.”

Carl threw himself at Rick and kissed him. Rick kissed back but broke the kiss remembering what he had just said.

“Dad, _please_ ,” Carl whispered, his face inches away from Rick’s, “I want _you_ , dad.”

Rick hesitated for a moment. “No,” he refused, “I’m sorry.” He turned to Carl. Rick leant in and kissed Carl on the cheek. “I love you,” he whispered, “This doesn’t change that. Nothing will,” Rick promised to Carl.

\--

Carl and Rick took a walk together after their conversation. They walked slowly together without talking. Alexandria’s streets were covered with snow and it was freezing but neither of them felt it. They had each other to keep themselves warm.

Carl stopped walking abruptly. Rick took a few steps before realizing that Carl wasn’t beside him. He turned around and saw Carl standing, feet deep in the snow. He walked over to Carl and stood in front of him. Carl was looking down where his feet should be.

“Have you been to see Denise yet?” Rick asked, breaking the silence. Carl wished that the silence had lingered on for a while longer. He shook his head. “C’mon,” Rick said, putting an arm on Carl’s shoulder. Rick’s warm touch got him moving again.

\--

“Ow,” Carl whined, wincing.

“Sorry,” Denise apologized and placed the gauze back on Carl’s eye, “Almost done.”

Rick watched was Denise cleaned Carl’s eye. He was glad that he wasn’t doing it for once. He hated it when he accidentally hurt Carl while changing bandages.

“There,” Denise said, backing away. “Make sure you change them regularly, Rick,” she said to him as she threw the old bandages into the garbage. Rick nodded and gestured to Carl that they’re leaving.

They said goodbye to Denise and left the infirmary. The snow and cold was stronger now. Rick pushed Carl ahead of him so that they get to the house faster. Rick looked at the back of Carl’s head as they walked. He wanted to say something but the wind was too loud.

Rick saw that Daryl was waiting for him on his porch as they got closer to the house. Rick walked faster so that he was besides Carl. As they approached the house, Rick sped up and walked past Carl so that he could see what Daryl wanted.

“Hey,” Daryl said, his hands feeling numb from the cold. “You wanna come on the run with me tomorrow? Michonne opted out last minute.”

“Is that a good idea?” Rick asked, “With the snow and everything.” Carl walked up the porch steps and stood behind his dad, waiting for him to finish. He was eager to go inside. He didn’t mind it earlier but the cold was killing him now.

Daryl shrugged. “Might cool down tomorrow. I don’t know, we’ll see,” Daryl walked up to the porch steps. “So, you comin’?” he asked Rick. He thought about it before looking back at Carl who was looking down at his feet. Rick hesitated. He didn’t know if he should stay with Carl or go on the run with Daryl.

“Uh,” Rick said, “Can I talk to you about that tomorrow morning?” Daryl hesitated for a moment and nodded. He turned around and walked down the porch steps before disappearing. Rick turned to Carl and saw that he went inside the house, leaving the door wide open.

Rick walked through the open door and closed it behind him against the cold wind. The warmth of home felt amazing. He took off his boots at the door and walked to the living room. He saw Carl lighting up the fireplace. Rick collapsed on the couch and let out a sigh.

Carl lit up the fireplace and walked over to sit on the couch. He lay down, placing his head on Rick’s lap. They both sat quietly at the fireplace, the warmth comforting them. Carl eyes darted to the clock. It was one in the morning. How was it so late already?

Rick placed his hand on Carl’s head and started finger combing his hair. Rick threw his head back. He felt exhausted. Carl grabbed Rick’s free hand with both hands. Carl warmed Rick’s stone cold hand as they fell asleep together.

\--

Carl woke up on the couch, to the dim morning light in the living room. The fire had been put out and he wasn’t sleeping on Rick anymore. He noticed that someone had taken his shoes off and placed a blanket over him.

He threw the blanket and got up. He heard clutter in the kitchen so he walked over there half-asleep, rubbing his eyes. He stood in the doorway and saw Michonne in the kitchen. She turned around and almost dropped what she was holding when she saw Carl standing.

“Morning,” Michonne smiled.

“Morning,” Carl said, his voice raspy, “Where’s dad?”

“Huh?” Michonne asked, immediately realizing what Carl had asked. “Oh. He went on that run with Daryl.”

“Oh.”

**Author's Note:**

> Leave what you think and suggestions in comments. I'll try to add chapters regularly, filling the gap between the two episodes. Updates should take a week at most, there might be some delays sometimes though.


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